After being a key player in their most recent championship run, veteran center Javale Mcgee and the Golden State Warriors have apparently agreed to a new contract. As reported by Chris Haynes on Thursday, both parties have apparently agreed to a deal for the upcoming 2017-18 NBA season, but the terms of the contract have yet to be revealed.
JaVale McGee took to Instagram after the apparent new agreement. A non-guaranteed contract was what McGee agreed to the previous season with the Golden State Warriors, and he managed to survive the final cut out of training camp and became a key rotation player off the bench for the Warriors.
McGee had a breakout season with Golden State
Throughout 77 games with the Golden State Warriors, JaVale McGee set a career-high in field goal percentage by shooting 65.2 percent from the field. This play is improved production from previous seasons as McGee played only a total of 62 games in the years 2013-2016 due to injury problems, and suited up for the Dallas Mavericks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Denver Nuggets throughout this time.
The Golden State Warriors could only offer the 29-year-old big man the $2.1 million veteran's minimum. McGee played in every game of the NBA playoffs except Game 5 of the NBA Finals, posting 5.9 points and three rebounds per game while shooting over 73 percent from the floor.
At this point, the Golden State Warriors have given guaranteed contracts to 15 NBA players. Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Zaza Pachulia, David West, JaVale McGee, Patrick McCaw, Nick Young, Omri Casspi, Kevon Looney, Damian Jones, and Jordan Bell.
Similar to other teammates, McGee took less money to stay
According to reports, JaVale McGee was apparently unhappy with the Golden State Warriors for giving small forward Nick Young the entire $5.2 million taxpayers mid-level exception. The Los Angeles Clippers and Sacramento Kings both reportedly showed interest in the 29-year-old McGee and were more than willing to give him the minimum.
McGee admitted that 2016-17 was a tremendous turnaround season for his career, especially after struggling with injuries for the previous three seasons. "This has been somewhat of a redemption season." In May, this is what Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated was told by McGee. "This has been a great opportunity and platform to show what I have and to help this team."
Before the 2016-17 season, JaVale McGee had a long history of injuries. The Golden State Warriors' hopes are high that McGee can stay reasonably healthy. McGee's athleticism means he has tremendous upside, as shown by his play last year, and at the age of 29, he still has years left in the league where he can be a productive player for an NBA team.
